The veg vendor

The petty shop owner is only three houses away from my house and sells groceries and milk. A retired employee from Ashok Leyland established this shop three years before his retirement; was looked after by his wife when he is away for duty.  A charming personality knows how to deal with people. 


A vegetable vender woman, slender carrying double her weight on her head used to park the load near this shop to have a little rest, also  to attract the nearby residents shouting in a shrill voice 'keere' 'keerai'. This is the time I go there for my two packets of aavin premium milk satchets. The woman will ask me with a cup of hot tea in hand, pointing her eyes downwards to the load of vegetables kept on the ground. I will reply with two nods of head shakes from left to right and back.


There ends the bargain, but the dialogue of her ardorous journey in the wee hours by share auto, the procurement process etc continue. Sometimes feeling pity on her, used to offer her money for a bunch of green without buying it.  I will tell her to give the bunch to someone free. The shop owner deposits the milk packets into my wide opened gunny bag gives an additional salute and a grin for shopping in his petty shop. After two days again I went to the shop for buying milk and the shop was closed.


Two days later, my other neighbours were talking in hushed voice, that the shop keeper died of covid two days back, just one day after admitting to hospital, and his mortal remains was directly taken and cremated.   I was very sad,  heard this news with my jaws wide open, but my wife suddenly closed it!

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